Rail bond and method of making same



Sept. 22, 1925.

c. l.. LARsoN RAIL BOND AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME Filed SeD.. 2 1921 2Sheets-Sheet 1 ,Wzessesf Sept. 22, 1925. 1,554,285

C. L. LARSON RAIL BOND AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME Filed'sept, 2, 1921 2sheets-sheet 2 fam@ Patented ept0 22,

Fati i STEEL AND WIRE GMENY F NEW JERSEY, i CORPRAIOH JERSEY.

RAIL BOND AND METHOD 0F MAKING- Appieation led September To all whom tmay concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES L. LAnsoN, a citizen of the United lStates,and resident of IVorcester, in the county of Worcester and State ofMassachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in RailBonds and Methods of Making Same, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to rail bonds having a conductor and'terminals,With the terminals permanently fixed to the ends of the conductor. Theinvention, While not limited thereto, more particularly relates to railbonds having rigid terminals formed of dissimilar metals and a flexibleconductor connecting and permanently united or Welded to the terminals,and adapted to be Securedt-o the track rails by arc Welding.

One object of my invention is the provision of a novel method of makingrail bonds whereby the rail bond terminals, in bein formed orfabricated, are united to the en s of the bond conductor by filling ahollow metal shell with molten metal and fusing or Welding the body ofthe terminal to the hollovs7 metal shell or crust and to the end of theconductor in the terminal fabricating operations.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an improved methodof making rail bonds whereby composite rail bond terminals are formedhaving an interior or body portion of relatively soft metal Which isencased in and fused to a hard metal shell or crust of relatively hardermetal.

Another object of the invention is to provide a rail bond havingterminals formed of dissimilar metals, with the terminals constructed insuch manner as to permit of forging the built-up terminals to make themetal of the terminals dense and homogeneous and at the same time shapethe terminals to the desired size and contour.

A further object of this invention is the provision of a rail bond thatis readily applied to a track rail by Welding processes employing anelectric are.

A still further object of this invention is the provision of a rail bondhaving the novel constructions, arrangement, and combination of partsshown in the drawings, to be described in detail hereinafter, and to beparticularly pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring now to the drawings forming e, 1921. sensi im. lisant.,

part of this specieation, Figure l is a plan,`

of Figure l, showing a completed rail bond of the T-head terminal type,embodying my invention and made in accordance With the method formingpart of my invention.

Figure 3 is a plan, Figure i a side eleva-- tion, and Figure 5 asectional end elevation, on the line V-V of Figure 3, showing one formof metal shell as formed and used in making rail bonds in accordancewith this invention.

Figure 6 is a plan illustratin the manner of building up the interior orody portion of the rail bond terminals and attaching the conductorthereto by the method forming part of my invention.

Figure 7 is a plan showing the manner of connecting the terminals to theends of the conductors preparatory to building up the body portion ofthe terminals of a double strand T-head terminal rail bond.

Figure 8 is a plan showing one end of the conductor of a rail bond, ofthe E -head type, positioned within the metal shell forming part of thecompleted rail bond terminal, in readiness for building up the body ofthe terminal .and uniting the metal shell and interior or body portieriof the terminal to each other and to the conductor.

Figure 9 is a plan showing one end of a laminated rail bond conductorpositioned Within the metal shell forming part of the terminal of a railbond, of the "'lhead type, in readiness to form the interior or bodyportion of the terminal and unite the shell, body portion, and conductorin accordance With my invention.

In Figures l and 2 of the accompanying drawings (which show a rail bondembodying my invention in its finished form) the numeral 2 designatesthe rail bond conductor, and 3, in a general Way, the terminals on theends of the conductor 2. In this rail bond, Which is of the 'lm-headtype, the conductor 2 is flexible, being made of a strand of copperWires. The terminals 3 are `formed of an outer shell or crust 4g and aninterior or body portion 5. In order to provide a rail attaching surfaceon the bond terminals, which is of approximately the same conductivityas the track rails to which the bonds are applied when in use, theterminals may be built up Yof dissimilar metals,

the outer surface 4 preferably. being made of a hollow trough-like shellof steel or other ferrous metal, and the body portion 5 made of copperor a cuprous alloy.

In constructing the terminals 3, the hollow trough-like shells 4 (seeFigures 3, 4, and 5) are made by drop forging, being forged from a Ibarof steel or other metal of suitable size and shape. The shells 4 are ofsubstantially triangular cross section and are made with comparativelythin, fiat side and end walls and a rounded bottom. Each shell 4 isprovided on one side with a boss 6 having an axial opening 7, which isformed by drilling or punching, through which the end of the rail bondconductor 2 Iprojects into the cavity 8 in the hollow terminal shell 4,this boss 6 serving to hold the conductor 2 in place relative to theshell 4, While the body 5 of the terminal is being built` up of fusedmetal.

In formingor building up the composlte terminals 3 and securing the endsof the conductor 2 thereto, the cavity 8 in the hollow, trough-likeshells 4 will first be cleaned so as to remove all scale or rust. Afterthe end of the conductor 2 has been inserted in the opening 7 in theboss 6 of the shell, the cavity or recess 8 therein is filled withmolten metal, usually copper or copper alloy.

The preferred Way of supplying the inolten metal used to form the body 5of the rail bond terminals is by means of the electric arc and by theuse of a non-metallic electrode 9 as one pole of the electric circuit,the terminal shell 4 and the conductor 2 forming the other pole of thecircuit.

In another way olf supplying the molten metal the electrode 9, insteadof being a non-metallic electrode, will be formed by the metallic rod orpencil from which the molten metal is derived` In using the preferredway of applying the molten metal an electric are will be formed betweenthe end of the non-metallic electrode 9 and the shell 4. The innersurfaces of the shell and end of the conductor 2 will become heatedthereby to the fusing point. A metallic rod or pencil will then beintroduced into the .zone of fusion formed by the electric arc and willbe melted therein, the molten metal dropping into the cavity 8 of theshell 4 and becoming welded to the fused surfaces of the shell 2 and endof the bond conductor 2. By filling the cavity 8 in this manner, withmetal melted from the pencil the body 5 of the terminal is built up orformed. The metal forming the body of the terminal, when the terminal ismade in this way, is liable to be somewhat porous and relatively weakmechanically and the so formed terminal will have a rough unfinishedappearance, although it may now be used in bonding rails..

In forming the terminals by using a m'etallic pencil to form theelectrode 9, instead of a non-metallic electrode, the terminal body 5will be built up as has been de scribed, the one difference being thatthe electrode 9 itself is melted to supply the metal forming the body 5,instead of using a, separate pencil as done when the non-me- V tallicelectrode is employed, and the results in using this method not provingas satis factory as the first described and preferred method.

In order to compact the metal forming the body 5 of the terminals andshape the terminals 3 to the desired contour and size, as well as toprovide a finished appearance to the outer surfaces thereof, theterminals are now heated to a forging tem erature and drop forged. Theflash which orms on the edges of the terminal in this'operation issheared off or otherwise removed, and the terminal is thereby finished.

The operations which have been described will then be carried out informing a terminal 3 on the other end of the conductor 2, whichcompletes the bond and produces a neat, finished article.

In making rail bonds having terminals like that shown in Figure 7, themethod will be the same as has been described in connection with thebond of Figures 1 and 2. The electrode 9 being either non-metallic orthe rod or pencil itself. The bond 0f Figure 7 has adouble strandconductor 2, and, as shown, the terminal shell 4 does not have a boss onone side. The adjacent ends of the conducto-r 2a preferably will bebound with a metal ferrule or sleeve 10. An aperture 7 is provided inone side of the shell 4 to permit the end of the double strand conductor2a to be inserted Within the cavity 81 of the shell, the sleeve 10forming the equivalent of the b'oss 6. With this construction the bondsare formed and the terminals are built up on the ends' of theconductors, as heretofore described, and also will be drop forged tocompact the metal of the terminals and finish them to contour and sizeand form a completed article.

In making rail bonds with L-head terminals, such as that shown in Figure8, the metal shell will be made in the same way as has been describedfor Figures 1 and 2' The boss 6", however, will be offset from themiddle of the length of the terminal, so as to be nearer one end thereofthan the other. The end of the bond conductor 2b will be inserted in theopening 7 b in the boss 6b on the shell 4b of Figure 8, and the body ofthe terminal will be built up in the same Way as has been described,and, after being formed on the ends of the conductor, the terminals willbe heated and their drop forged to finished size and contour.

In making the rail bond of Figure 9, in

4, the body of the terminal will be built up or formed as has beendescribed. The terminals also will be finished to shape and size by dropforging, suitable forging dies being provided to make the terminals ofthe required shape and contour, as will be readily understood.

It will be understood that while the drawings and specifications showand describe various forms of rail bonds made in accordancewith thisinvention, that the invention is not limited thereto, since variouschanges may be made in the design and construction of the bonds shown,and variationsmade in the steps of the method which has been described,without de arting from the invention, as defined in t e .appendedclaims. The invention is not limited to the use of an electric arc inbuilding up the composite terminals, since the necessary molten metalmay be supplied through the medium of the Oxy-acetylene or Oxy-hydrogenblow pipe or in any other desired manner.

1. The method of making rail bonds, which consists in positioning an endof the bond conductor within the@ cavity of a hollow, trough-like metalterminal shell, then introducing molten metal into said hollow shell tothereby form a solid terminal and unite the conductor end and' terminalshell with the metal within said shell, and then forging the terminal tocompact and shape the terminal to contour and size.

2. The method of making rail bonds, which consists in forming a hollow,troughlike terminal shell of relatively hard metal, positioning an endof the bond terminal within the cavity in said shell, then filling saidcavity with molten relatively soft metal v to thereby unite the shelland terminal end to the metal within` said shell and form a solidterminal, and then forging the terminal to compact and shape 'theterminal to contour and size.

3. The method of making rail bonds, which consists in forming a hollow,troughshaped metal terminal shell,v ositioning one end of a bondconductor within said hollowl terminal shell, and then heatin theconductor end and shell and filling sai shell v with molten metal tothereby unite the conductor end'and shell to the metal within said shelland form a solid terminal, then heating the so formed-terminal andforging the heated terminal to compact and shapethe -terminal to contourand size.

4. The method of making rail bonds, which consists in ositioning an endofthe bond conductor within the cavity of a hollow, ltrou h-like metalterminal shell, and then melting a metal pencil in an electric varc tofill said hollow terminal shell with the melted metal and thereby form asolid terminal and unite the conductor end, the shell and the metalfilling the shell, and then heating and forging the terminal to compactand shape the metal thereof to contour and size.

5. A rail bond comprising a conductor, and terminals on the end of saidconductor, said terminals having a crust-like shell of `relatively hardmetal and an interior of relatively soft metal Welded to the interior ofsaid shell and to said conductor end.

6. A rail bond comprisin a conductor and wrought metal termina s on theend of said conductor, said terminals having a crust-like shellofrelatively hard metal and an interior of relativel soft metal welded tothe interior of sai shell and to said conductor end.

`r'7.-A rail bond comprising a conductor and terminals on the endsthereof, said conductor being flexible and said terminals 'being solidand having a forged wrought steel crust welded to an interior ofrelatively soft wrought metal.

8. A rail bond comprisin a iexible conductor and rigid terminals ed tothe ends thereof, said terminals having hard metal faces welded to asoft metal interior and the welded terminals being wrought to contourand size.

9. The method of manufacturing a rail bond comprising the steps offorming up a member having a recess therein and an opening to receive abond cable, then inserting the bond cable into the opening with the endsthereof exposed in the recess, then uniting the end face of the cable tothe member by thermo-deposition of a metal similar to that of the cable,then filling the .space in the recess yand securing the side set myhand.

CHARLES'L. LARSON.

